There are few more satisfying feelings in the world than that waterlogged, salty, muscle-aching, red-eyed, stoked exhaustion after a really, really, really fun surf. You know when you stay in the water until you are not even sure you can make it in and you decide that this is your wave in, and then that [...]
I see dolphins a lot. I know that is connected to spending time in the ocean, but I honestly seem to be a magnet for sea life. Especially dolphins. The other week I was driving into town from the highway when I looked up and saw this cloud that looked disarmingly like a dolphin jumping [...]
I have not been surfing for over three weeks now … and oddly, I have not gotten the usual “gotta get in the water” itch that would normally accompany such a stretch of dry living. Should I be worried??? Have I lost something magical? Lost the urge or drive to surf? I had to find [...]
When the wind dies down, the crowds disappear and you have this aquatic playground all to yourself, you know it’s going to be a good day. Every single wave is yours for the taking. The waves aren’t perfect, but if they were there’s no way you’d be the only one out there. The mention of [...]
Like most things we do, I find surfing to be a terrific mirror for how one leads their life. You can either ride on the shoulder of the wave, cruising along at a safe distance, at an easy pace, always staying ahead of the danger. You could ride behind the peak, in the wash, always [...]
Moving north from Byron Bay to live and work and study in Brisbane for the past few years has meant a big shift in my access to surfing. In the past I would surf at least once every day and had an ongoing and real relationship to conditions, banks and spots that were working. I [...]
You never know what Mother Nature can and will do. After these many years of surfing, I have never experienced two surf days (or sessions) that were alike! I love picking up my board, I love packing my wax, towel, and wetsuit, I love the smell of the ocean, I love feeling the wet sand between my toes, [...]
Ali Hale wrote an article on her blog about creating more time in your day, and it got me to thinking about the same thing with regards to surfing. Although you cannot actually create more time – I checked and even Einstein couldn’t get his hands around that task – the management of tasks and [...]
You may indeed have stumbled across the existential crisis which faces all dedicated surfers at some point in their lives: “How does a dedicated surfer balance love, responsibility, and relationships with a surf lifestyle?” It’s the great risk which comes with any great passion: that one day, your passion will ask too much of you, [...]
A few years ago I spent a year living in Hawaii on Oahu. I was going through a rough patch…the adage “release that which no longer serves you” was an elusive intangible notion that I wasn’t ready to apply to my life. I took up surfing, longboarding to be exact. I was more into the [...]
The rules of surfing are eternally unwritten. They undulate from break to break like the surface of the water, but like the water, they adhere to the laws of nature – the delicate balance between gravity and surface tension. There are no referees in the water. There are no cops, supervisors, principals or mommies to [...]
A few days ago I was waiting at the water’s edge for a break in the swell, trying to organise my timing so I could get out past the massive wash that was about to hinder me as I paddled out. The swell was solid and the sweep was still really strong and there were [...]
I’ve been renting a beach house in Montauk, Long Island for ten years now. After a few years of watching the surfers there with envy, I decided I’d become one myself. So I grabbed the vintage 60s Bing surfboard from our rusty shed, thinking if I was going to learn to surf, I wanted to [...]
I have encountered three metaphors for what most people call the ‘work-life balance’ issue. These are: juggling, keeping multiple plates spinning on sticks, and surfing. Each has its strengths and flaws. All share in common the problems that arise from calling the whole thing a ‘balance’ problem in the first place, but the ‘balance’ point of view has some merits.
BE PATIENT (oh so very patient!) It takes a long time to learn to surf … and even longer to master it. Surfing is flat out hard and one should not expect to be ripping waves on their first day out. If you want a basic feeling about learning to surf, it is basically an [...]
